[Greasy6020]

what size of sweep is ideal for weed/ grass control?

i have a bit off a problem with grass and weeds in my family's garden, hopefully i can get the boss convinced to plant things on 48'' rows...

what kind of tractor is ideal?

the narrowest tractor i have is a Moto Mower 6020... 6.5 hp, 3 speed transaxle, 33 inches wide, 6-12 ag tires and wheel weights... i know that the transaxle is rumored to be delicate, should i find another tractor for cultivating?

how deep will be ideal for weed control?

will i need other methods to go along with the cultivator for weed control?

if done frequently enough will i just need the cultivator or will it be enough? i know i will be out there as much as possible to get seat time.

 

[L.Fure]

what size of sweep is ideal for weed/ grass control?

i have a bit off a problem with grass and weeds in my family's garden, hopefully i can get the boss convinced to plant things on 48'' rows...

what kind of tractor is ideal?

the narrowest tractor i have is a Moto Mower 6020... 6.5 hp, 3 speed transaxle, 33 inches wide, 6-12 ag tires and wheel weights... i know that the transaxle is rumored to be delicate, should i find another tractor for cultivating?

how deep will be ideal for weed control?

will i need other methods to go along with the cultivator for weed control?

if done frequently enough will i just need the cultivator or will it be enough? i know i will be out there as much as possible to get seat time.

I have never cultivated with a GT, yet, but have cultivated enough crops with a farm tractor to help you a little. The sweeps should be wide enough to overlap each other for best coverage. You only need to cultivate as deep as the grass roots. Any deeper and your only bringing up more weed seeds from deeper down. You shouldn't have to go between the rows of vegetable's you are cultivating. Set the cultivator up to straddle the rows. Some sweeps are a half sweep and should be the ones set closest to the row crop. You may need to attach shields to the cultivator to protect from dirt covering your plants. There will still be grass and weeds in the row. When cultivating rows of plants such as corn you can remove the shields and increase your speed once the plants get larger. This will kick dirt around the base of the plants to cover the grass and weeds. This used to be called laying-by the crop. I hope this helps you out. One thing I forgot to mention. The taller the tractor the better. A Case 400 series tractor has an eleven inch ground clearance. You would be able to cultivate most vegetable crop longer into the season with eleven inches of ground clearance.

 

[propane1]

The 1951 ferguson I have or the same in a ford tractor, 8N have 13" of ground clearance. I am hoping to use my ferguson for garden work this year, garden tractors only have about 8" of ground clearance.

Noel

 

[L.Fure]

The 1951 ferguson I have or the same in a ford tractor, 8N have 13" of ground clearance. I am hoping to use my ferguson for garden work this year, garden tractors only have about 8" of ground clearance.

Noel

Those two models should work good, but I always considered them farm tractors. A Farmall Cub with a one row cultivator would also make a good cultivating tractor.

 

[propane1]

Very true L.Fure. A cub or an A , would be great. That's what they were designed to do.

Noel.

 

[MH81]

Pacer or Pony Massey as well.

 

[Greasy6020]

but those cost money :wallbanging:

all jokes aside, the moto mower is paid for, a cultivator is maybe $200, a sleeve hitch is $200 on feebay and the moto mower is probably way better on fuel (of course i wouldn't know...)

i have a limited, small budget to work with. another, bigger tractor is not in the cards... implements are a different story, once i can prove that they can/ will be an asset to stepmom and dad... first on the list will be a cultivator such as an agri-fab with the adjustable shank spacing.

 

[DH1]

Brinly Hardy still sells new cultivators but lots of $$$ for them, you can get them at Home Depot.

http://www.brinly.com/ground-engaging-attachments.html

 

[bill edler]

i just bought a brinly plow and a agri-pro cult to start gardening i went with a new plow because i did not want to shine the bottoms. On facebook cubcadet buy -sell guy selling brinly lift for $80

 

[Alc]

How big is your garden ? I tried using a culitvator with my PK , worked good for the few rows I could use it on but my garden is only 36' long by 50'wide and I didn't have the rows set correctly for doing every row either . I straddled the rows that I could , it was more work then it was worth for my little garden .

 

[Greasy6020]

Garden is 60x200 feet if I'm correct. Probably put everything on 48" rows. Main tractor has minimal ground clearance so it will be wide rows...

I'm using the cultivator like that because I can only straddle the row for only so long. If I go between rows of plants I can cultivate all season long. I'd much rather cultivate on a tractor than use a hoe all season.

 

[OldBuzzard]

I'd think that one of the older Brinly cultivators would work well for you. They can be spread pretty wide if you set them up like this:

[sharedmedia=core:attachments:27946]

You can also put other style shanks on them.

 

[Greasy6020]

I have a new brinly cultivator. Got it this Saturday. No way to add sweeps or other stuff...

 

[CanadianHobbyFarmer]

Is your new cultivator the same style as the one OldBuzzard posted? You can adjust that one for width and the sweeps (aka teeth) can be changed out for wider ones for weed control. The ones in the picture are more for loosening soil. If you have a welder or access to one, you might consider building your own so you can set it up specifically for your needs. Building your own sleeve hitch is also an option and can easily be done for a lot less than $200. I made a sleeve hitch for my Bolens For about $25 to $30 and a few hours of labour.

Jim

 

[Greasy6020]

Canadianhobbyfarmer, it is like the one both oldbuzzard and I have a picture of. Minus the holes to add plow bolts for the sweeps. Currently it will only get some of the weeds... Unless I can find knock on sweeps. I've seen them befor for farm tractor sized cultivators.

 

[MH81]

I'd think that one of the older Brinly cultivators would work well for you. They can be spread pretty wide if you set them up like this:

You can also put other style shanks on them.

Lots of options there
http://gardentractortalk.com/forums/topic/25108-picked-up-another-brinly-cultivator-cc-500/#entry336022